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Sikkim landslides wipe out seven - 7th June, 2012 - Rain, unfriendly terrain and more mudslides hamper rescue operation in Rolep. Seven persons, three of them children, were killed when landslides struck a village in East Sikkim after a spate of rain lashed the area last night. Four members of a family were also among those wiped out in the early morning strikes.

The unfriendly weather and terrain — the village is at a height of 3,500 feet — coupled with at least other 10 landslides on the Rongli-Rolep road hampered rescue operations. The first group of SSB jawans from Rhenock, 12 kilometers away, arrived nearly four hours after the three mudslides hit Rolep village.

The first rescue team arrived in the village around 8.30 AM. The commandant of the 46th Battalion of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Anil Kumar Sharma, said 50 jawans were deployed along with the Sikkim police to clear the road and go to the village.

The assistant meteorologist at the Gangtok office of the India Meteorological Department, Michael Das, said there was a rather heavy rainfall in Rolep. The area received 55 mm of rain from 8 P M last night till the morning ..... Source ...... The Telegraph